Dos Pueblos senior Wyatt Gardiner scored a game-high 21 points, but it wasn’t enough as visiting Villa Park surged ahead in the second half to capture a 55–50 victory on Friday night at Sovine Gym.
The Chargers jumped out to an early 10–2 lead and battled throughout, but a sloppy third quarter allowed Villa Park to take control of the game.
“Just the fact that we really fought back when we dug ourselves a hole — we hadn’t played from behind all year, so that was good for us to see what it’s like and what it’s going to take,” said Dos Pueblos coach Joe Zamora. “It hurt losing Wyatt for a while. We need him to not be in foul trouble.”
Dos Pueblos took a 12-4 lead with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter on a basket inside by Iyad Ahmad-Reda, but Villa Park responded with a 10–0 run to take a 14–12 lead on a layup by Jacob Lopez.
However, the Chargers closed the first half strong. Gardiner found Coulter Jay alone inside as Dos Pueblos took a 22–19 lead at the 2:05 mark of the second quarter. The Chargers extended their lead to 26–22 at halftime after Gardiner converted two free throws with five seconds left.
Gardiner and Ahmad-Reda picked up their fourth fouls early in the third quarter, and Villa Park outscored the Chargers 20–9 in the period. The Spartans deployed a relentless press that began to pay dividends in the form of steals and easy transition opportunities.
“Villa Park came in and they were physical, and they really did a good job of disrupting,” Zamora said. “At times we matched that intensity and physicality.”
The Spartans’ lead ballooned to 49-35 early in the fourth quarter on a steal and layup by freshman Jalen Cotton.
Despite the double-digit deficit, the Chargers wouldn’t quit. Gardiner returned to the game and ripped off ten quick points. His full-court drive and layup capped a 10–2 Dos Pueblos run — in which he accounted for all of the Chargers’ scoring — cutting the deficit to 51-45 midway through the fourth quarter.
A basket inside by Caleb Damron brought the Dos Pueblos deficit down to 53-48 with 2:36 remaining, but that was as close as the Chargers would come to mounting a comeback.
With the loss, Dos Pueblos drops to 2-1 on the season. Villa Park improves to 8-2 and will play San Marcos on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Chargers will open Channel League play on Monday at Oxnard.
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